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67
The arrangements by which the local clinics exercise ante-natal
supervision over the normal patients to be admitted in the County
hospitals are working very smoothly, and undoubtedly by saving
them the tedious journey to the hospital the arrangements afford
great relief to the patients. This practice has now been extended
to benefit those patients who attended the County hospital in the
first place and had arranged to be confined there. 145 such were
referred by the hospital to the local clinics for their ante-natal
supervision. Any cases who apply to the hospital but who cannot
be accommodated are also referred to the local clinics.
While additional beds becoming available during the year
resulted in the hospital being in a position to accommodate a high
percentage of applicants, even of those whose only reason for
being confined in a hospital was their own personal wish, it is to
be expected that in future the same conditions will not obtain,
and that selection, possibly even stringent selection, will be carried
out in determining those to be admitted; and that the number of
beds available will not prove sufficient to meet the demands of
the mothers who, to an increasing extent throughout the country,
are expressing their desire to be confined in a hospital rather than
at home. Even the most popular domiciliary midwifery service
cannot compete against this wish, and it is probable that the
availability of accommodation this year at the Redhill Hospital
and its annexe has had some effect in reducing the number of
domiciliary confinements in the district, including those that would
have been attended by the Council's midwifery staff, and the
number of confinements in the local maternity homes.
POST-NATAL SERVICES.
Post-natal Examination.
181 women attended the clinic for post-natal examination,
making altogether 273 attendances, while a further six were
examined under the general practitioner ante-natal scheme.
Puerperal Infection.
(a) Consultant services:—The consultant was summoned to
two patients suffering from puerperal pyrexia and to two patients
shortly after confinement.
(b) Hospital services:—Any cases of puerperal infection
requiring hospital treatment are removed either to the London
County Council North-Western Hospital, or to the Isolation Block
of Queen Charlotte's Hospital. During the year 19 patients were
removed.
(c) Home nursing:—Two patients suffering from puerperal
infection were nursed under the Council's arrangements by the
staff of the local District Nursing Association.